Could Anything Disrupt Google?

by Sam on June 27, 2008

google_fish

Google seems to be on a tear. The 100 pound gorilla in the technology space. Unstoppable.

But…

Storage space is increasingly a commodity as evidenced by Google’s Gmail.

What happens when a user can download the entire Internet?

Searches could then be conducted instantaneously. Advertisements would be unnecessary.

Thoughts?

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  • There's way more to Google than storage space - there's all the algorithms that make the data that take up that space useful. "Downloading the internet" would also involve re-downloading the internet every second or two to get updated information - highly unlikely. Also, the search would only be instantaneous if your processor was good enough to rip through 75 pedabytes instantaneously. The latest issue of Wired's lead article on the pedabyte age leans towards the cloud (http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/magazi...). Thins are going to get interesting, though. That's for sure.
  • Hey Greg,

    Thanks do your comment. I have not yet seen the latest issue of Wired
    and definitely will check it out.

    In terms of the algorithms that have made Google successful the rise
    of open-source search (Wikia) as well as better search engines like
    Mahalo mean that the algorithm may be loosing some of its value. At
    that point I'd rather have the speed and convenience of a search that
    isn't tracking my every move.

    Downloading updates could happen while your computer is sleeping...the
    only thing that might be at a disadvantage is real-time news --- but
    for that we may lean more on services such as Twitter and Blogs.

    Just some thoughts but yes -- this is still a ways away.
  • What happens when a user can download the entire Internet?

    You're assuming someone will have a big enough pipe to download the internet to local disk, and then for constant updates. I do not think this will be the case for some time.

    Unless ...

    Greg mentioned cloud computing. The guys hosting the cloud will have big pipes. Rent space in a cloud, copy the internet there. Now you've got 'your' copy of the internet, browse at will.
  • "The guys hosting the cloud will have big pipes. Rent space in a cloud, copy the internet there. Now you've got 'your' copy of the internet, browse at will."

    Isn't that just what Google does?
  • Geoffrey
    Internet growth is vastly outpacing storage density/cost. Don't get me wrong, storage has made great strides, but that's nothing compared with information production. We're filling up our own drives as fast as we get 'em, there's no hope that we'll fit everybody else's data on there as well.
  • The limiting factor is not storage space. It is computing power to index iit and bandwidth to download it.
  • Do you guys think that search will remain the primary jumping off point?
  • About your Question Sam, I think it will not remain. What about you? Do you have any idea about this?
  • @mark I'm honestly not sure.

    I do know that increasingly in my life (and so probably likewise for
    many others) my mobile device is my primary jumping off point.
    Although I run searches on my iPhone, it's not nearly as often as I do
    while using a computer. I tend to be active when using my mobile so
    it's much more situational.

    I doubt this answers anything or even points at an answer :)
  • Scott Kozicki
    Google will disrupt itself, but not in the good Clay Christensen way. The company has injested too many people, shouldered too many projects, and the days of "20% to work on what you think is important" are gone. Google has succumbed to the same problem that all high growth successful companies fall to - themselves. There's no way that they can possibly monitize or even develop all of the great ideas that are percolating there. At least not fast enough or efficiently enough to see them all under one stock ticker. There's a rash of people leaving the company to start their own projects. Remember, startups are efficient users of capital, and that's what matters. If Google really wanted to change the game, they'd split themselves up into a million pieces and use Web 2.0/3.0 architectures to federate them together to provide applications and services.
  • @Scott

    "Startups are efficient users of capital, and that's what matters. If
    Google really wanted to change the game, they'd split themselves up
    into a million pieces and use Web 2.0/3.0 architectures to federate
    them together to provide applications and services."

    Hmm...interesting comment Scott! I want to think more about this...I
    think you're touching on something very interesting...

    Sam
  • Google is just the best there is. They are simple to use, give you what you need, and you can't help but use them and love them.
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